Input sought from parents on city schools

Keila Torres Ocasio

Updated 9:29 pm, Tuesday, January 1, 2013

BRIDGEPORT -- For the first time since Bridgeport jumped headfirst into the national debate over school reform, parents will have a chance to tell Mayor Bill Finch what changes they would like to see.

And, unlike past public meetings on the subject, the conversation won't be limited to control of the Board of Education. Starting in February, Finch, interim Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas and other school officials will embark on a citywide listening tour.

"Underline listening," said Joshua Thompson, Finch's education liaison. "There is no hidden agenda. There is no preconceived agenda. You need to sit and hear exactly what the community is saying here -- whether that takes two town halls or 17. It seemingly hasn't happened here and that's where you need to begin."

The city joined the national school reform debate in July 2011, after the Connecticut Post reported city and state officials were working behind the scenes to replace the elected school board with a state-appointed board.

This summer, the Supreme Court overturned the state intervention and reinstated the former elected school board. Afterward, a Charter Revision Commission, appointed by Finch, voted to add a referendum question to the November ballot asking voters to choose between an elected school board and one appointed by the mayor.

Ultimately, a majority of city residents voted to keep the elected board. Although the mayor was disappointed by the outcome, Finch said he still believes school reform is needed in Bridgeport.

"I think the great thing about this election is that it mobilized parents," Finch said. "I guarantee you, of the 14,000 people who voted for (the appointed board), they were predominantly parents. They don't really care who is on the school board, or if there is a school board. They care if their kid can get in the middle class."

Finch said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of going back into the charter and trying to build a hybrid board comprised of both appointed and elected seats. For now, though, Finch wants to move forward with other education reforms.

The mayor's short-term plan includes the distribution of a flier detailing the city's school choices. The flier would list all public, private, charter and parochial schools in the city.

The long-term plan will come into focus after the listening tour. An important topic the mayor hopes parents will address is school choice. Finch has long argued that parents should not be required by the Board of Education to send children to a failing school.

According to the new School Performance Index released in December by Connecticut Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor, only six of Bridgeport's 31 public schools test at or above grade level.

Four of the six schools meeting the new performance standards are magnet schools. A charter school in the city also ranks well.

"Everything with school choice has to be on the table," Finch said. "I think there should be public funds for scholarships, so children can go to all kinds of schools. I think we need more magnets. I think we need more charters."

Finch said his administration has been in contact with three or four people interested in running the city's schools.

"What we're going to want to do is convert some of the public schools into charter operators who are going to be more aggressive and have a better record than some of our failing public schools," Finch said.

Vallas, who is willing to stay on board after his contract expires next June, said he doesn't believe charter schools are the only solution.

Vallas said the city could make significant progress by expanding several changes already in the works, including three, new inter-district science high schools and a new military academy.

Along with providing an affordable option for less fortunate families, and breaking down barriers between suburban and urban youth, inter-district magnet schools bring more state funding into a city.

Whether it's creating more magnet schools and charter schools, or finding new ways to improve existing city schools, Thompson said the success of any plan will hinge on the public's input and engagement.

"There should be an alarm going off so loud in this city that we all can't sleep at night," said Thompson, referring to the current education structure in Bridgeport. "That it's intolerable. That we're so angry at that noise that we're going to do every single thing to make it shut off and that's how parents should be acting right now.

"They hear it every day. That ring goes off every time they drop their kids off at that failing school. Every day that we see our children not going to school. We all hear it."